Farm Bureaus to offer tips during Food Check-Out Week

WASHINGTON — Farmer and rancher members of many local Farm Bureaus will reach out to consumers with practical information and tips on how to put nutritious meals on the table with fewer dollars during Food Check-Out Week, Feb. 15-21.

Theme

Stretching Your Grocery Dollar With Healthy, Nutritious Food, the new official theme of Farm Bureau’s Food Check-Out Week, reflects the fact many Americans are feeling an economic squeeze and as a result, are eating out less and preparing more meals at home.

“During this week, we will offer consumers information on how to stretch their grocery dollars with healthy, nutritious food. Tips for better nutrition on a stretched budget, making sense of food labels, and understanding USDA’s MyPyramid are among the topics Farm Bureau members will be talking about with consumers,” said Terry Gilbert, a Kentucky farmer and chair of the American Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee.

Ronald McDonald House

Although the focus of Food Check-Out Week has evolved, the Farm Bureau/Ronald McDonald House Charities connection that began more than a decade ago remains strong.

“Through continued charitable donations during Food Check-Out Week to local Ronald McDonald Houses, as well as other charities, we’re helping these organizations provide the people they serve with healthy foods on a stretched budget,” said Gilbert.

Commenting on the nearly universal need among consumers to stretch their food dollars in today’s economy, Gilbert noted a number of studies have shown recent higher retail food prices were caused primarily by rising energy costs for processing, packaging and transportation.

On behalf of the American Farm Bureau, Gilbert and the committee will make monetary and food donations to Ronald McDonald Houses in Phoenix and Louisville.

Links to Farm Bureaus

Participating county and state Farm Bureaus will hold events throughout the week. Links to state Farm Bureau Web sites may be found at http://www.fb.org/state/.

Since the program was initiated in the mid-1990s, Farm Bureau members have donated more than $2.6 million in food and monetary contributions to Ronald McDonald Houses and other worthwhile charities during Food Check-Out Week.